In my short time here, I've noticed there are many BAs I would consider "purists." I'm curious about how many BAs are enthusiasts, whether they're purists or not. I mean how many of you can like a beer, despite it not "actually" being the style it claims? How many of you can like a beer that's brewed "properly" yet loaded with flavors, juices, etc. after the fact? How many of you care more about being a positive representation of its style than how good a beer tastes. As an example, I hold Newcastle to be a properly made, representative brown ale. I like it. But there are other beers that call themselves brown ales that I like even more, like Dibs On Your Shacket by Young Blood. https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/59602/645003/ Thoughts?
When I look at a label and the brewery tells me I'm buying a Pilsner, but the beer in the package is really an American Pale Ale, I'm not going to rate it well. That said, when I rate a beer I always add points to the "Overall" column -- which used to be the "Drinkability" column, for being non-offensive and well-crafted. Purist? Maybe. Honest? Definitely. Look at my reviews. BTW -- It helps to actually know beer style characteristics to understand what you may be buying. But then, maybe a lot of people don't care and just buy beer on reflex. Good for them, but don't go questioning those of us who are actually interested in what's going into our glass.
That’ll sound strange to actual purists if I follow your wording, but I don’t nearly pay much attention to it. It’s not something I would negligently ignore but well… if it’s good to the palate. Freshness is more important, and something I have given far more attention.
I think I'm a mix of both bit probably lean heavily to enthusiast these days. I really enjoy the off the wall stuff. Love my barrel-aged whatevers. Pastry stouts - sure. Never thought I would, but there's quite a few "adulterated" beers that I thoroughly enjoy with whatever additives the brewer throws in that "bastardizes" the base style. Beers that mimic cocktails - yup. A straight up German pils or any other "pure" style? I'm in. You get the drift. That said, if you are going to give me a fruited Kolsch then I had better be able to find it ( or remnants of it) somewhere in the mix - a semblance of a Kolsch Style beer. So if a beer is labeled as Style X then I expect to find Style X in the beer in some form. Not finding that will earn a ding on the review and I will call it out in the wrap up. I, too, am pretty lenient in that overall category where I factor in "liking". I think I was much more persnickety about it when I first started on the site. I remember getting all bent out of shape, along with others, with American beers called a kolsch (given the historical significance and guidelines). Ok so it's a kolsch-style brew - peace on earth. Maybe I'm getting soft in my old age, but I can be a grumpy old man about things more important than beer (gasp!). I think I've come to it just being beer and I'll drink what I enjoy regardless of "purity". Brewers and going to push the envelope in all sorts of directions and create new standards for the future. If I want pure forms I can find them. If I want an additive laden fruit slushie, a habanero pilsner, or a barrel-aged dark saison? Well, I can find them, too. Beer life is good!
If a beer tastes good, it's a good beer, irrespective of anything else. If a brewery purposefully mislabels a beer to sell more beer, they can fuck off.
I'm all about expectations. If they can deliver on them, I'm happy. If I feel deceived, not so much. Truth be told, I really don't buy a lot of beer that I have questions about, so this deception is pretty hypothetical.
I'm the same way to the most extent -- my favorites are established. However, in seasonal times like Oktoberfest and Bock seasons I will see a new label and take a chance. I also tend to give established breweries the benefit of their reputation when they release something new, but that hasn't been terribly successful in my experiences lately.
“I mean how many of you can like a beer, despite it not "actually" being the style it claims?” That is an ‘interesting’ question. Not too long ago I discussed a beer from Tonewood that was branded as being a West Coast Pilsner but due to its hazy appearance and notable tropical fruit flavor it drank more like a Hazy Pale Ale for my palate. As I discussed: “I suspect that if I were presented with this beer blind, given its appearance, flavor profile and mouthfeel I would state that it is a Juicy/Hazy Pale Ale.” https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-weekend-287.682472/#post-8305839 I bought this sixpack expecting it to be of the style branded on the can’s label. I felt like the brewery was being disingenuous here. There was recent discussion about Carlsberg ‘updating’ their branding by calling the beer a “Danish Pilsner” when in reality this beer is a Eurolager. I am not a fan of this marketing change/crap here. Cheers!
Cheers to you! I just posted the below in another thread: "I have read more than a couple of posts by BAs reporting that they purchased beer at brewery taprooms for to go purchases to find out that when they got home those beers were not fresh. Based upon these readings I check the dates on the beers at the taprooms. And if a brewery chooses to not date their beers I just put them back in the beer refrigerator; no dates = no sale."
If I like a beer, my rating will be more about how much I like it, and less about whether it matches the stated style. If I dislike a beer, I take a step back to consider how well it matches the style guidelines, and then try to rate it against that vs. my likes/dislikes. I don't always succeed in repressing my personal preferences, but I try.
At one time it used to really irritate me, but the zaniness of craft beer has softened me up. It's hard to get mad at a "helles" that's at least in the ballpark when it's sitting next to a Quadruple Hazy IPA or a "Russian Imperial Stout brewed with coffee, cocoa nibs, lactose, raspberry puree, and aged in 12 year old rum casks." At a certain point you just have to stop caring and just like it or not. I still despise when breweries include regions (especially ones that aren't representative) in their style descriptions, but it's probably too late.
Yep - that's a deal breaker since it's setting an expectation and missing it by a wide margin. Completely agree with @bambiere and his short words in this regard. I think we are all saying the same thing to varying degrees. We also differ in how strongly we feel about blurred style boundaries, but mislabelling certainly crosses all the lines. The label sets the expectation.
Problems, problems, problems. Some new owners and different breweries. Brown Ale. Newcastle only rates being the standard because its fairly popular and the style was mostly extinct. I'd prefer a maltier more roasty brew myself. IPA. Many, many years ago the designation lost all meaning in Britain. In the US, the conspicuous survivor was Ballantine IPA, which defined the style in the US. No current version bears a resemblance to the Ballantine IPA of early 70s from Newark. Pilsener. Urquell doesn't have the depth of flavor that I remember from 40-50 years ago. I'd say Rothaus Tannenzapfle comes closer to my ideal Pilsener. Trust your taste buds. Choose for your own enjoyment.
Most Danish Pilsners are Euro lagers. Wikipedia Beer in Denmark describes what you think of as Danish Lager as the "Gold" or "Classic" 5.7% beers. More common are the 4.6% beers. In the 70s for a while US Carling's "Tuborg Gold" used that designation implying the better Danish beer while filling the bottles with a beer described on the label as being similar to the lower level adjunct "Tuborg Gron" (green label). I thought US Tuborg Gold was one of the better AALs (but definitely an AAL) at the time.
I guess I’m somewhat a purist, in the sense, if they don’t deliver to the type of beer they advertise, I get somewhat irritated and rate them down. I just had an Imperial Stout from Belgium which was much closer to a run of the mill Belgian beer. It was a fine beer, but I lowered the rating accordingly. I also don’t like when brewers twist beer types to their whims. What Treehouse label as American Pale Ale, is to me a weaker hazy IPA.
I'd consider myself more of an enthusiast of beer. Like a few others have said I also enjoy a beer for what it is or even just as a beer or beverage itself, whatever flavor it may be. If I think it's nontraditional or not representative of the brewery's said style for the beer then I will rate the 'overall' last individual rating lower. I don't mind fruit or adjuncts in certain beers like stouts and sours, and I am always open to new creative flavor combinations and see beer almost like a food recipe where just about anything can be added in it. Important to note, the style listed here on BA for the specific beer could be incorrect, so I usually try to double check with untappd and the brewery's website or social media for more info. Some styles have English and American variations, or a pilsner could be a hybrid between Czech and German style, and with innovation, variations and creativity breweries are able to experiment outside of certain style parameters which makes it harder to purely rate taste to style. It's also possible for you to really enjoy a beer that isn't traditional to it's stated style, and you could also not enjoy a beer that is true to style, and other than the individual 'overall' rating I'm not sure how to differentiate enjoyment of flavor with it being pure traditional and true to style or not. I also rate based on flavor/aroma intensity and body fullness, and I tend to rate higher than the avg so there's that. I usually enjoy the beers, but if I think it's lacking or not quite good I'll probably mark it down, and if it is more or less true to style or good for what it is advertised to be then I usually try to note that in the last individual 'overall' rating.
I will always give the brewer the benefit of the doubt. I'll look at the brewer's description to determine if what he says is what I'm actually tasting. If it is, that's good enough for me. If he says it's a Lithuanian pilsner and the craft beer sites classify it as a Croatian pale ale, I don't care. But if he says it's a huckleberry buckle oatmeal stout, I'd better be able to taste that.
If a beer is good, I like it. If a beer is not good, I probably don't like it. I stopped caring about styles or labels a very long time ago because it got to a point where basically no one was brewing anything according to guidelines and now I just would like to know if a beer is hop forward or malt forward.
